I'm about to brew some cider, followed by some pale lager from two kits. I've decided to use bottled spring water from a company just up the road from me. They claim on their website that their water is "between ten and twenty times higher in zinc than other popular water brands on the market".

I've heard high levels of zinc would benefit the yeast, which I assume would lead to greater / better fermentation and hence a slightly higher alcohol level in the finished product. Am I right?

Great question. Zinc isn't really mentioned in the basic dogma of brewing so I'm not sure how it will impact your brews.
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GrahamMar 26 '12 at 15:05

thanks guys. About to bottle the cider tonight, I'll be tasting in about 1-2 weeks so I'll come back and let you know how it compares to previous brews
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roryokApr 13 '12 at 11:24

Hi Folks. Initially I thought I'd messed up somehow. After bottling and leaving for a number of weeks, secondary fermentation had still not occurred. However, after leaving them until around june / july, they went through quite a bit of secondary fermentation, producing a lovely fizzy cider! Will definitely be using high zinc water again
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roryokAug 13 '12 at 14:48

Charlie Bamforth, in a recent episode of the beersmith podcast, mentioned that zinc was used in some UK Breweries to assist with head retention. He suggested that 2mg per litre would be about right (Its been a while since I listened so please check it out first, just in case you poision yourself!). If memory serves me, the discussion is towards the end of the podcast.